Indianapolis’ Human Rights Ordinance

If you have a few minutes to write to your city-county councilors asking them to amend the city’s Human Rights Ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity protections (aka Proposition 622), please take some time to do so.
If you’ve been discriminated against, or if you know someone who has (here’s a hint I have) tell them about it and why it’s important to you.
The council needs to hear from you, because the votes to support the proposition aren’t solid, and some councilors are still making up their minds. The right-wing is enlisting support from outside of Indianapolis and Indiana for an email bombing campaign against the change.
Also, take a bit of time to read a couple of responses from councilors. Last year, city countil member Ginny Cain, sent one of her constituents this very telling remark: recounted in full on Advance Indiana: “I will never support something that is meant for destruction of human beings and our civilization.”
And just this morning, Councilor Earl Salisbury, in response to a story from a constituent about discrimination, gave this flippant reply: “So if the laws change does the abuse stop? No more suicides? Promise?”
Yes, including GLBT rights in the HRO will help prevent suicides. It will improve the quality of life for GLBT people, who will be less depressed as a result. The high suicide rate among gay and lesbian and transgendered people is because they suffer from discrimination, not because they are gay or transgendered. The way to reduce the suicide rate is to end the discrimination, and passing Prop. 622 is the first step in doing so.
Another good reason to pass to pass Prop 622 — preventing the massive brain drain that is currently going on in the state of Indiana, by making the state more attractive to people like me — technical people that the city is spending money hand over fist to attract to the city.
Tell the council about your professional field, and how passing the ordinance would make you feel about remaining in the state.